Pure (Hardy/Grey's, Pfleuger, Fenwick, etc.) Sold

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Newell Brands sold Pure Fishing, which includes relevant brands like Hardy, Grey’s Hodgman, and Pfleuger, to Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm based in New York. More details to follow… " from Angling Trade Media

I don't know who Sycamore Partners is or their intentions with these once illustrious brands. I am not though surprised that Newell (Rubbermaid) has divested themselves of this inadvertently acquired division. I can only hope this means renewed ownership engagement and growth for Hardy and the many other Pure brands.

"The company has signed a definitive agreement to sell Pure Fishing to Sycamore Partners, a leading private equity firm specializing in consumer, distribution and retail-related investments. Pure Fishing is a leading global provider of fishing tackle, lures, rods and reels with a portfolio of brands that includes Abu Garcia®, All Star®, Berkley®, Chub®, Fenwick®, Greys®, Hardy®, Hodgman®, Johnson™, JRC®, Mitchell®, Penn®, Pflueger®, Sebile®, Shakespeare®, SpiderWire®, Stren®, and Ugly Stik®.

Gross proceeds from the Pure Fishing divestiture are anticipated to be $1.3 billion, subject to customary working capital and transaction adjustments. In 2017 net sales for Pure Fishing were approximately $556 million."

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rsb, It was not my intent to denigrate either of those products...to say Fenwick is a rebranded Greys is not a put down, Greys hade some very serviceable rods...rather that they have no intact lineage with the brands whose names they bare. I am not a marketing maven but it is clear enough what Pure's design is, which involves selling well known and regarded names at low prices. It does not make them bad but it is misleading. Fenwick ceased to exist following its first purchaser, Woodstream, let HMG go. Conceptually, however, Fenwick's founder Don Green, did go on to start a new company which eventually became Sage and Jim Green came along too so rather than Pure's Chinese made product, the real evolution of Fenwick is today's Sages. Recall in fact that early RP(L) was brown with tip-over-butt ferules just like...

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"Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York. The firm specializes in consumer, distribution and retail-related investments and partners with management teams to improve the operating profitability and strategic value of their business. Sycamore has approximately $10 billion in assets under management. The firm’s investment portfolio currently includes Belk, Coldwater Creek, CommerceHub, Hot Topic, MGF Sourcing, NBG Home, Staples, Inc., Staples United States Retail, Staples Canada, Talbots, The Limited and Torrid."

Very exciting. I can now get printer paper and a new Rod and Reel at the same time. I wonder if they'll do bulk discounts. Maybe with the next order of supplies for the office. This could be a game changer.

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Very exciting. I can now get printer paper and a new Rod and Reel at the same time. I wonder if they'll do bulk discounts. Maybe with the next order of supplies for the office. This could be a game changer.

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I would doubt the Japanese Fenwicks would be affected by this deal. They are actually produced by Tiemco under license from Fenwick. Should Fenwick go away, they would probably continue their manufacture under another name, probably Euflex.

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And the Tiemco's I believe are built in S. Korea and perhaps are sold here too under yet another name (or so has been suggested to me). Fact remains, Fenwick as we knew it back at the dawn of graphite, long ago ceased to exist. A "license from Fenwick" is a license from Pure, it owner...rods are not "brands" they are the ever evolving product of design and fabrication and who is designing Fenwicks today?